Ceramist Maria Kolosovskaya in her workshop
RUBRIC "ROOM" dedicated to the place in which a person spends most of his time. It can be absolutely any space: a huge kitchen in which the hero works and rests, an art gallery that has become the second home of its owner, or just a living room in a one-room apartment, which is at the same time an office, a bedroom and a secret place. The space in which a person is able to concentrate on himself and his affairs and not feel himself a participant in the eternal race of a big city. In the new issue - co-owner of the pottery workshop and ceramist Maria Kolosovskaya.
I was lucky: in the pottery courses at the Academy. Stroganov, I met with the supermaster Vladimir. We became friends and opened our space, where anyone can come who is interested in working with the material. These are children, whom we love very much, and adults who become children during classes. There are those who come to meditate behind a potter's wheel, but there is a student who has already opened her own space in Zelenograd and works as a teacher. We even hold corporate workshops. We like to share experiences, so the doors are open to all.
About modeling
I started working seriously with clay two and a half years ago, before that, when I was a child, I went to mugs for modeling. I studied at the Moscow Institute of Architecture and Architecture, where, shortly before graduation, I listened to several lectures of Lyubov Mikhailovna Popova - she told, for example, about the style of fashion and folk crafts. I decided to go to her biennial course to learn the perception of art - just there I paid attention to the ceramics. At the same time, I learned about the ceramics master Lucy Ree from London - now she is my favorite. When I saw her works, her lovely smile, I myself wanted to sit around the circle and try.
It is fascinating, as from a lump of rock that is thousands of years old, you can make a conscious or unconscious form. I am impressed by the human interaction with natural material - this is a very unusual feeling. When a colored product comes out of the oven, for me it is a miracle every time, because it is difficult to predict exactly what color it will turn out. I am an experimenter, and my journey in ceramics has just begun: it is interesting for me to mix everything together, to see how the change in oven temperature affects the glaze.
About the room
We searched for the space for half a year and found it through Cian. It was terribly tedious - nothing like it. Either the price did not match our capabilities, or the place did not fit. The premises were found in the area of "Babushkinskaya", in the old textile factory, a wreck, where, according to local legend, Vyacheslav Zaitsev was hanging out in Soviet times. On the territory besides us there are several creative workshops: carpenter, markhishnikov with his huge hangar “Master Work”, restorers of antique furniture, artists on ceramics. Next to the building there is the Torfianka pond, a park, the Red Arrow stadium. This is a lovely sleeping area, where there are many kindergartens and schools - we love children very much, we want to communicate with them, and it has a place for it. One summer, we went with the students to the park and sculpted on the street - it was great.
The room is very spacious - in our workshop there is where to turn. We tried to find a space where, above all, it would be comfortable to work. The downside is that we have small windows, and I love a lot of living light. True, in summer you can climb onto a huge roof: here's the sun and sky, as well as the opportunity to cook vegetables on the grill and get an even tan. Before we stopped, the space itself was really ugly and there was nothing there, not even a bathroom. Volodya completely invented everything, designed and realized with his golden hands.
The main part of the furniture is made by us on the spot. Vladimir did it himself - bought boards, screws, plywood. We sought to make a functional workshop, and not salon and fake space. There are several chest of drawers that the Stroganov School threw into the dustbin, and Volodya gave them a second life. Actually, I'm not a fan of a lot of things. I prefer everything to be in business - the Japanese are very close to me in this. We bought circles in specialized stores, we have three of them: two Japanese and one Russian. Furnaces were made according to our requirements.
